Who Is Soyjack? The Meme And Wojak Character Explained

Soyjak: it’s a face seen around the internet. With his mouth slightly agape, teeth just barely showing and joylessly empty eyes, Soyjak has become a fixture of the online community. Usually, he stands in for the sad, cringe and downtrodden, making him the beta male archetype.

Where Does Soyjak Come From?

The father of Soyjak is a mid-2010s trend having to do with the specific Nu-Male smile he wears. The mother of Soyjak is, of course, Wojak.

The “Nu-Male Smile” is a term used to describe a facial expression 4chan users found repellent and associated with men who they deemed not masculine enough. It was also known as “faux surprise face,” and appeared in selfies and social media posts. Other facial features were grouped around the general “Nu-Male” vibe, such as stubble and glasses, both of which worked their way into Soyjak.

Wojak, meanwhile, is a good candidate for the most frequently posted meme of all time. The line drawing of a wizened, utterly hairless and vaguely alien-looking face expressing unclear emotions has livened up every corner of the web. Soyjak is one of many spinoffs and variations of the Wojak character.

The combination of Wojak with the Nu-Male occurred in the last days of 2017, when posters on 4chan joked about Soyjak's fascination with the Nintendo Switch.

Who Is Soyjak?

Soyjak is the quintessential Beta male. He is physically unattractive, with an ungroomed beard and balding head. Further, Soyjak is frequently associated with things that posters find unmasculine: gaming, vegetarian lifestyles, and general cringe.

How Is Soyjak Used?

Soyjak fits into the broader Wojak meme universe, playing an important role in the mythos. Often, Soyjak is drawn weeping, expressing sadness or another emotion. In traditional Soyjak memes, he is usually a villain or else the butt of the joke.

Soyjak is most often accompanied by Chad, his total opposite. In these memes, Soyjak often expresses some cringe position that contrasts Chad's.

But Soyjak also has his own mythos. Memes like two Soyjaks pointing and Soyjak shows his phone or Place, Japan are often used to mock people who are interested in something.

Although Soyjak was traditionally used to stand-in for someone or something that the poster thought was cringe, in recent years he has crossed over the irony threshold. Now, some users post Soyjak positively, proudly reappropriating the character and making fun of the memes that once used him to mock others.

Why Do People Use Soyjak?

Soyjak represents a certain kind of masculinity, generally a negative and disadvantaged sort. He stands in for all repressed, beta and cringe behaviors, representing the part in each of us which is annoying and feeble.

He is the internet’s go-to symbol of cringe, what everybody fears becoming and looking like. He is unable to act, unable to see past his own emotions and terminally cringe. In a sense, Soyjak is the scariest of all the Wojak characters because he’s the one we fear others see us as.

For the full details on Soyjak, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.